Lockheed Martin recently delivered a pair of MC-130J Commando II special mission aircraft from its Marietta, Ga., production facility to RAF Mildenhall, England, the company announced. Mildenhall’s 352nd Special Operations Group is slated to receive a total of 12 new-build MC-130Js to replace the unit’s legacy MC-130P/H fleet, which flew its final sortie back in January. “Air Force Special Operations Command has received 24 MC-130Js” as part of its overall fleet recapitalization efforts and “another two scheduled for delivery by the end of the year,” company spokeswoman Stephanie Sonnenfeld-Stinn told Air Force Magazine on Dec. 10. AFSOC currently plans to buy a total of 85 MC-130J special operations aircraft and convert 16 of those airframes into AC-130J Ghostrider gunships. In addition to the MC-130Js, the 352nd SOG also is taking delivery of 10 tilt-rotor CV-22 Ospreys, which the aircraft will support with tactical aerial refueling on covert infiltration and special operations resupply missions.
How Miss America 2024 Took the Air Force Somewhere New
Dec. 20, 2024
When 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh became the first ever active service member crowned Miss America on Jan. 14, top Air Force officials recognized a rare opportunity to reach women and girls who otherwise might not consider military service as an option.